Five Swords
by Peacemaker01
Summary: May the Force be with you. Nothing is true, everything is permitted. My friends are my power. Three important sayings, all from different worlds.
1. Chapter 1

Five Swords

May the Force be with you. Nothing is true, everything is permitted. My friends are my power. Three important sayings, all from different worlds. When the universe is about to come to an end, it's up to five heroes to join forces agains the Sith, Templars, and Master Xehanort.

**Okay guys, this is without a doubt, going to be one of my favorite fanfics I'll ever do! I would like to point out that I am a very hard-core kingdom hearts fan and that I have played every single game of kingdom hearts and beaten every single one (except for re:coded which doesn't really count in the first place) on its hardest mode on my first try of each game. Since I am very up to date on everything kingdom hearts related, I will be using major spoilers from the games that I have already played. That means, if you aren't up to date on kingdom hearts to its fullest, I suggest you leave right away and pick up where you left off involving your kingdom hearts life. In this fic, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS!**

**Enjoy! (just for the record, I don't own Kingdom Hearts, Assassin's Creed, or Star Wars the Force Unleashed (1 or 2) This is purely for fun.)**

Prologue: Yen Sid and Mickey

Mickey had left Disney Castle as soon as the note was sent to Sora, Riku and Kairi to go to the Mysterious Tower where Yen Sid lived. Once he was there, Mickey immediately was able to receive an audience with Yen Sid.

"Yen Sid." said Mickey. "I think we're finally close to figuring out where Ven's heart is."

"Is that so?" said Yen Sid stroking his beard. "That leaves only Terra…"

"Right, and we've gotta save all three of them!" said Mickey.

"Mmmm…" said Yen Sid as he seemed transfixed on something. "The question is: what does Xehanort intend to do next?"

"Xehanort? But his two halves are gone." said Mickey thinking about this thoroughly. "There was Ansem, who commanded the Heartless, and Xemnas who commanded the Nobodies. Didn't Sora defeat them both?"

"Correct, those two met their end." said Yen Sid. Mickey could already piece together that something was wrong. "However, therein lies exactly our problem. Their destruction now guarantees the original Xehanort's reconstruction."

"Huh?" said Mickey.

"Xehanort's heart, once seized by his heartless half is now free. And his body which had become his Nobody has been vanquished. Both halves will now return to the whole. In short, this means Master Xehanort, will return."

"And you think… you think that maybe he's gonna try something?"

"A man like Xehanort will have left many roads open." said Yen Sid waving a hand for emphasis.

"Well, it doesn't matter what he cooks up. Me and Sora, we'll be ready, and Riku too!"

"Yes, they are indeed strong, but not true Keyblade Masters, like you." Yen Sid paused and stopped stroking his long grey beard. "Tell me, would a single one of you suffice if what you faced was not a single one of him?"

Mickey's face filled with horror as he slammed his hands on Yen Sid's desk and exclaimed: "What! Whatya mean!"

Yen Sid leaned forward, speaking strictly.

"Mickey," Yen Sid stood up and looked out the window of his tower. "please summon Sora hither; Riku as well."

"Of course," said Mickey sounding confused. "but, why?"

Yen Sid turned to Mickey and spoke as his eyes narrowed. "To show us, the Mark of Mastery."

**AN: Everything that just happened (for those of you who don't know) is the "secret ending" to Kingdom Hearts Re:coded. This is NOT my original work!**

Chapter 1: Mickey's Letter

Sora, Riku, and Kairi all looked at the piece of paper inside the bottle left behind by the king. They all listened as Sora read the words aloud:

"_Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,_

_I wanted to tell you right away about the memories from the past that sleep within you, and about the pieces that will tie you to your future._

_Sora, Riku, Kairi, the truth behind the Keyblade has found its way through so many people, and now I know that it rests in your hearts._

_Sora, you are who you are because of those people, but they're hurting, and you're the only one who can end their sadness. They need you. It's possible that all your journeys so far have been preparing you for this great new task that's waiting for you._

_I should have known that there were no coincidences, only links in a much larger chain of events._

_And now the door to your next journey is ready to be opened._

_-Mickey"_

**AN: Again, this is King Mickey's official note to Sora, Riku, and Kairi (this is revealed at the end of Kingdom Hearts Re:coded). This is NOT my original work!**

Once the letter was finished, Sora looked to Riku and then to Kairi, who seemed especially worried.

"What should we do, Sora?" asked Riku. Sora looked at the letter again and then back at his two friends. Sora sighed and let his hand holding the letter drop.

"I need some time to think…" said Sora. He moved away from his friends on the beach and headed over to the old Paopu Fruit tree where the three usually hung out. Minutes passed by as Sora had made up his mind. It wasn't like he was going to choose to not help his friends, he just needed a moment to take this in. Once he had made his decision, Riku came out to where he was and looked at the sunset with Sora. Sora was holding the letter and the glass bottle it came in with a smile on his face.

"Sora." said Riku as he approached. Sora turned around to see Riku come to meet him.

"Riku." said Sora in response.

"Your mind's made up?" asked Riku in confirmation. Sora looked back at the beautiful orange sunset and nodded.

"Yeah." he said with a smile on his face. As they looked at the sun over the ocean's horizon, Kairi followed in suit of Riku and turned to look at Sora with her hands behind her back.

"Sora." She said sounding a bit disappointed.

"Kairi," said Sora as he hopped down from the tree trunk and walked over to her seeming a bit ashamed in his decision. "I…" Sora didn't need to say anything as Kairi nodded in complete understanding of what he had chosen. Sora approached her with a smile and nodded when he and her were face to face to eachother. "It's just… they really need me." Sora looked down, and then back to Kairi. "I have to go. I am who I am, because of them." Hearing Sora say this, Riku and Kairi both smiled with compassion at Sora's courage and loyalty to his friends was always unbelievable. Kairi reached for Sora's hand and placed a Wayfinder (Made of Thalassa shells) in his hand.

"See you soon." she said with a smile.

**AN: I swear, this is where things start to get original! The last part (for those of you who don't know) was the secret and final ending to Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep. This is NOT my original work!**

**(AN: Okay guys, from this point on, everything should be a completely original storyline. If it isn't though, I'll be sure to let you know!)**

"So then, what happens now?" asked Riku as he looked at Sora.

"We wait. Eventually, a door will open and we'll go see Mickey." said Sora. Riku nodded and looked to thw sky with Sora, wondering what kind of new adventure they were going to next...

**Kingdom Hearts 3: Five Swords**

**(By: Peacemaker01: Again, all credit goes to Testsuya Nomura for his original creation of the Kingdom Hearts Saga. I'm writing what I think the third game would be like. THIS IS NOT THE ACTUAL GAME! THIS IS PURELY FOR FUN!)**

It only took a few days for there to be a sign that the worlds were once again accessible from Destiny Islands. At sunset on the second day of waiting, Sora and Riku continued to sit on the trunk of the tree together as they spotted something in the sky. What looked like a small dot was getting bigger and bigger at a steady pace.

"Riku! Do you think thats-" said Sora. Riku smiled and nodded as he realized the truth of what was happening.

"Looks like it!" said Riku with a large smile. Kairi came out to join them as she looked up to the sky anxiously, while at the same time, sadly. Coming toward them, was a gummi ship that was hurling towards them at amazing speed. It only took minutes for it to land safely on the side of the beach for Riku and Sora to approach it quickly. When Riku and Sora were twenty feet away from the ship, the entrance opened and Goofy and Donald leaped out smiling as they both ran to Sora and Riku.

"Sora!" they both screamed as they ran to meet up with them. Due to Donald's web feet however, he tripped on the sand which caused both him and Goofy to fall on top of Sora as they said hello.

"Guys! It's great to see you and all, but please get off me!" said Sora laughing. Goofy and Donald did so and stood up properly to greet Riku as well. Once the short reunion was over, Donald began to explain.

"We got a letter from the king saying that we had to come and see you guys." said Donald. Sora and Riku looked at each other and nodded.

"He also said that we need to take you with us to Yen Sid's place." said Goofy.

"What? Why there?" asked Riku. Donald shrugged.

"He wouldn't tell us. He did say that we had to hurry though, so let's go!" said Donald. He and Goofy turned to go back on the ship as Sora and Riku turned away to say their good-byes to Kairi.

"See ya, we'll be back." said Riku. Kairi nodded and gave Riku a hug before allowing him to step back and head for the ship. As Riku left them alone, Sora and Kairi shared a moment of silence. Sora couldn't help but feel the guilt eat him from inside. He didn't want to leave Kairi for a third time, but his friends needed him. He was confused about what he should really do.

"We'll see each other again, Sora." said Kairi with confidence in her voice. Sora looked at her with astonishment in his eyes and smiled. She was right. Their bond was too strong to be broken. They would see each other again.

"Okay. I promise to come back to you." said Sora. Kairi nodded and quickly made her way into Sora's arms before he left.

"I'll miss you..." she said. Sora hugged her back and smiled.

"Yeah... me too." he said. They stopped their embrace as Sora left her for another time and headed straight for gummi ship with Riku, Donald, and Goofy.

"You ready, Sora?" asked Riku. Sora nodded as his look intensified.

"Yeah. I know now that I'm leaving with no regrets." said Sora. Riku nodded as Donald and Goofy got in the pilot seats and started the gummi ship.

"Take your seats guys! We don't wanna loose ya!" said Goofy. Riku and Sora did as they were told and buckled into their passenger seats while they lifted off the beach and Kairi waved goodbye to them. When the rockets finished warming up, they zoomed out of sight; out at warp speed headed straight for Yen Sid's Tower (Mysterious Tower). As they road in the ship, Sora, Riku, Donald, and Goofy all talked about how things were for the past year so far. They were even able to see Chip and Dale, the engineers of the gummi ship, ride along with them. It was a great experience to see them again. Once the space travel was over, the gummi ship landed at the Mysterious Tower where Sora and Riku disembarked.

"You're not coming with us?" asked Sora as they were about to leave. Donald and Goofy waved goodbye as Riku stood next to the exit of the ship.

"King Mickey wants us to stay at Disney Castle to take care of things there. He said that since he's going to be gone a long time, he needs someone to protect it in case it falls under attack again." said Donald.

"Bye!" said Goofy as he waved goodbye and the gummi ship took off. Once it was out of sight, Sora and Riku turned to the Yen Sid's Tower and nodded at eachother.

"Let's go, Sora." said Riku. Sora followed him in suit up to where Mickey and Yen Sid were waiting for them. Just as they stood outside of the door, Sora knocked and heard a deep voice allow them to enter in. The door opened and Riku smiled to see his good friend, King Mickey standing next to the large desk that Yen Sid took refuge behind.

"Sora! Riku!" said Mickey as they opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Your Majesty!" said Riku

"King Mickey." said Sora. Mickey smiled at the both of them and looked to Yen Sid as he nodded at both of them. No matter how hard they tried, Sora and Riku just couldn't get used to how scary Yen Sid was.

"Sora, Riku, I am relieved that you have come." said Yen Sid in a deep voice. Riku and Sora stood uniformly in front of him and nodded.

"Thank you, sir. But why have you called us here, exactly?" asked Sora. Yen Sid took a second to breathe and then began his explaination.

"Sora, Riku, ten years ago, there were three Keyblade bearers just like you. Their names were Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. All of them showed a fantastic display of power and promise as Keyblade bearers, but unfortunately, only one of them was a true master. Back then, they all shared a common enemy named Master Xehanort, who was a true Keyblade master and was obsessed with the powers of Darkness. When Master Xehanort tried to destroy the worlds, he was stopped by these three Keyblade wielders, but at a terrible cost." said Yen Sid. Sora and Riku understood what he was saying and continued to listen intently. "In the letter that Mickey sent you, the ones that are hurting are Aqua, Terra, and Ventus. You and Riku were brought here, so that you could start your journey to save them."

"Really?" asked Sora. Yen Sid nodded.

"However, there is more to it. When Xehanort was defeated, he was split into two pieces. The first was Ansem; controlling the Heartless, and the other was Xemnas; controlling the Nobodies. When you defeated both of them, the two halves once again reunited. In other words, Master Xehanort will return."

"What!" they both said. Riku and Sora looked at eachother, then at Mickey, and then back to Yen Sid.

"Upon learning this myself, I also suspected that he might not be alone. This time, he might have help as well."said Yen Sid.

"Great, well this just keeps getting better and better." said Riku crossing his arms.

"This is bad news." said Sora doing the same.

"Don't worry though, fellas! Yen Sid has a plan." said Mickey cheerfully. Riku and Sora looked at Mickey and then back at Yen Sid. When he was about to speak, he stood up from his chair and put his hands on his desk as he leaned toward them.

"Riku, Sora, you are both indeed very strong, but that still doesn't make you a true Keyblade master." said Yen Sid.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Riku.

"It means…" said Yen Sid as he leaned forward even more. "That you are both ready to take the Mark of Mastery Exam."

Riku and Sora looked at him with surprise and then they both smiled at eachother.

"What's that?" asked Sora, even though he already had a good guess on what that was.

"For the true power of a Keyblade wielder to be unlocked, he or she must be ordained with the title, Master. The only way claim this title, is to defeat the true darkness that is in the deepest reaches of your hearts." said Yen Sid. Riku looked down in shame as he thought about the mistakes he made long ago while messing with the powers of darkness. He knew that somewhere inside him, deep or not, the darkness was still there, lying in wait for him to give in.

"How do we do that!" asked Sora. Yen Sid looked down and then back at Sora.

"Your Keyblade shall show you the way. It is a dangerous test, but it is the only way for you to become true masters." said Yen Sid. Riku and Sora looked at eachother, a little unsure of the situation, but then nodded in confirmation.

"We'll do it." said Riku. Yen Sid looked at both of them and smiled.

"Very well. This is the path you have chosen." said Yen Sid as he stuck a hand out at them and Mickey went to stand behind Yen Sid. "May the Mark of Mastery Exam… begin."

**AN: Sorry, guys. I know I'm putting in a LOT of "author's notes" and all, but I want to be very specific about all this. I know that this chapter wasn't exactly "mine" but I wanted to make this feel like it was a realistic job of the next game. I really want to do my best for this one, because this is by far, my favorite video game. I'm pretty sure that from now on, things will be pretty original. Anyways, R&R if you want (greatly appreciated) and have a great day guys! Love you! XD**


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Woohoo! Took a little while, but I got it done! Hope you guys enjoy it! ;)

Chapter 2: The Voice of the Key

Sora opened his eyes as he floated in a void of black nothingness, looking all around him in wonder. Then, he began to feel himself float down until his feet reached something sold that he could stand on. Once his feet made contact though, a large black, blue, and purple light swirled around Sora as the floor beneath him was revealed to be a large stain-glassed circle that was almost of equal size to a football field. The picture on the stain-glassed circle beneath him showed a bunch of Keyblades surrounding a heart that was half-way dark and half-way light. Sora looked at its complexity and then he stopped walking around in his tracks. He could feel… something. Like, he wasn't alone here in this stain-glassed dimension.

"Sora…" said a soft, familiar voice. Sora knew exactly who it was and looked all around him to find the source of which his name came. After searching all around him, there stood in the center of the circle with him, was Kairi, looking at him with that beautiful smile that Sora loved.

"Kairi! What are you doing here?" asked Sora. Kairi only smiled at him a little longer and pulled him in with a tight hug. Her voice became soft and sexy as she whispered into Sora's ear.

"Sora… stay with me." said Kairi. Sora was shocked to hear her make that request as he felt his body suddenly feel… colder. "I know that your friends are in trouble, and I know that you want to help them…" Kairi paused and stopped to look at Sora in his eyes deeply. "But for once… can't you make a selfish decision? Forget about them and stay with me, Sora." said Kairi in her sexy voice.

"K-Kairi… I… can't…" said Sora as he blushed and desperately tried to resist.

"Please… Sora? I know you want to stay with me instead." she said. She moved in closer to Sora's face as her eyes narrowed in a sexy way. "I can… give you so much more…" said Kairi. She moved in to kiss Sora as Sora was about to let it happen.

"_Be careful…"_ said another voice. Time stopped as Sora heard the voice's command.

"What? Who's there?" asked Sora in his mind.

"_You know not what you condemn. Remember who you are..."_ The voice sounded throughout the world in the dark abyss, breaking through Sora and everything else, though there wasn't much, and into Sora's mind and heart. Realizing what he was about to do, Sora pushed Kairi away and threw her to the ground.

"Sora! What are you doing?" asked Kairi as she was about to cry. She seemed terrified of what Sora had done. He would never treat her like that. Not ever. Sora summoned his Keyblade into his right hand and pointed it at Kairi.

"The Kairi I know… would never ask me to leave my friends! She's the most kind hearted person I could ever know! And for you to try and ruin my image of who she is, you'll pay!" said Sora. Just as he finished, Kairi stood up from the floor and began to have a dark aura surround her. Her skin started to peel back and her eyes turned to a bright yellow; she started to look even less and less human.

"_Strike it down…"_ said the voice. Sora nodded and slashed the Keyblade through the monster as it disintegrated instantly.

"What was that?" asked Sora. The voice sounded inside him and around him again.

"_The darkest part of your heart."_ said the voice.

"And…who are you?" asked Sora. There was a long pause before an answer came. The Keyblade shone brightly in Sora's hand as he watched it glow.

"_I am -. You and I share a special connection. Like a chain."_ said the voice.

"Where am I?" asked Sora again.

"_This is a place where Darkness is at its most dangerous. You have no heart here, and your judgment will be clouded."_ said the voice.

"What does that mean?" asked Sora.

"_Have faith in who you are."_ said the voice as it disappeared from Sora's presence. Even though Sora didn't see it, he knew that it had left him and Sora looked to his Keyblade and nodded.

"How am I supposed to make decisions when I don't have a heart?" asked Sora. Silence. He was all alone. He knew that no one was going to help him, so he made a decision. "Fine, then. I don't need a heart! I know what's right and wrong on my own!" said Sora aloud. With the statement said, the stain-glassed window broke from underneath him and Sora began to fall deeper and faster into the dark void of nothing. Then, it started to slow as Sora saw another stain-glassed circle beneath him but this time with a different symbol. This had a symbol with a bunch of people Sora knew from his journeys and at the center was a black heart with a picture of Riku on the inside. As soon as Sora touched down, he looked around the circle beneath him, thinking about all of his friends that he missed. Then, from behind him, Riku appeared as he was when Ansem had taken over his heart, holding the dark Keyblade in his hands.

"Sora…" said Riku. Sora looked behind him and was shocked to see Riku as Ansem once again.

"Riku!" said Sora as he prepared his Keyblade to attack.

"How could you do that to Kairi! I thought you loved her!" yelled Riku. Sora's eyes widened as these words reached his ears.

"She… she wasn't acting like herself! I had to! I love Kairi, I do, but that wasn't her!"

"Yes it was, Sora! She could touch you and she wanted to hold on to you, but you struck her down!" yelled Riku.

"No!" yelled Sora in denial.

"Is this just the beginning? Are you going to start out with Kairi, and then go around taking out all your friends!" said Riku as he raised his Keyblade. Sora looked down at his feet and tried desperately to come up with a response.

"I… I…" was all Sora could gather up to say.

"Face it, Sora. You're no longer the person you used to be. You've changed into a monster, and I won't stand by you anymore! Not now, NOT EVER AGAIN!" yelled Riku as he ran towards Sora and came at him with a horizontal slash.

Sora blocked it with his own Keyblade and locked with Riku in a struggle for dominance.

"R-Riku…" said Sora as he fought against Riku.

"How can you expect me to trust you again! You and I were best friends, and you had to go and do something like that!" asked Riku furiously. Sora nodded and smiled at Riku, causing him to let up some.

"No matter what I do, Riku, you'll always be my best friend. Even if you don't stand by me, I'll always stand by you." said Sora. With that, Sora pushed Riku away, came at him quickly and hit Riku twice to make him disappear in a flash of black and purple energy.

"_Stay loyal to your friends."_ said the voice. Sora looked up into the pitch black sky and nodded.

"Yeah. My friends are always important to me. I'll always protect them!" said Sora. Once again, the stain-glassed window underneath him broke, and Sora fell through the darkness once again. As he fell, he could see the new stain-glassed window circle with a different symbol. This one had a picture of Sora, Riku, and Kairi all surrounding a large heart in the center that was occupied by two lifeless, yellow eyes. Once he stood on the window, Sora watched as the floor beneath him became shrouded in a dark void, and allowed a long, black, purple, and red claw to reach up and pull out with it a gigantic monster. It's teeth were jagged and it had long red hair with steaks of silver in it. It had a large heart-shaped symbol on its chest and had large spikes growing out of its back. It had two long arms and two long legs and had dark purple, grey skin. All in all, it resembled both Riku and Kairi and was terribly ugly to look at.

"W-What the heck is that!" said Sora aloud as the beast before him let out a large and bellowing roar.

"_This is the darkness of your heart. The doubt. The anger. The sadness. It all exists right in front of you."_ said the voice. Sora looked at it with horror and question.

"Is this, what I really am? This… monster!" thought Sora.

"_Don't be afraid."_ said the voice. _"Now… destroy it."_

The monster slammed down a fist sideways at Sora as his Keyblade blocked it with ease. Sora was shocked still as the monster continued to fling and throw its arms at Sora. It was terribly ugly and it resembled nothing of what Sora saw in his friends. Could this really be what he is? Just this? Sora wanted to deny it with all his heart, but the memories of the past had invaded his mind as they played out, starting to make sense. Finally, the monster swung it's arm just right, and hit Sora to the near edge of the stain-glassed window floor. Sora stood up and watched as the monster began to gather in dark energy and form it into a sphere in front of its open mouth.

"_If you cannot defeat the darkness inside you… then the darkness will claim you."_ said the voice. Sora watched as the monster continued to gather energy, and when it finished, the energy sphere exploded in a burst and flew towards Sora in a large beam of incredible power. Sora held up his Keyblade and blocked it as it slowly pushed him toward the edge of the circle. Sora watched the monster as it continued to fire at him, and then he realized something. The monster was crying. It was sad and even though it was horribly ugly to look at and it was trying to destroy him, Sora felt like he understood it. Gathering some strength of his own, Sora redirected the beam away from him and watched as the monster continued to roar.

"**Help… me…"** said the monster. Sora recognized the voices that came from the monster's throat as Riku's and Kairi's. It was asking for help. **"Please…"** Sora nodded in understanding and headed over to the monster in confidence. First, the monster hurled a large fist at Sora as he blocked it with his Keyblade and sliced off the limb. In a roar of pain, the monster attacked with its other arm as Sora sliced that one off too. When the monster was armless, it shot out beams of energy from its mouth. Sora dodged all over the stain-glassed floor, avoiding all of the monster's attacks. When one attack was about to hit Sora, Sora brought up his Keyblade and aimed it back at the monster. When it scorched the monster's eye, it howled in pain as Sora jumped high up and with his Keyblade, followed through with a powerful, downward swing starting on the monster's head and going all the way through its body. Upon the monster being sliced completely in half, Sora's Keyblade disappeared as two people floated high above Sora from where the monster's head was. It was Riku and Kairi, both of them smiling at Sora.

"**Thank you… Sora."** they both said uniformly and disappeared in two bright flashes of light. Finally, the stain-glassed window underneath Sora broke for a final time, allowing Sora to free fall in to the darkness with a smile on his face.

"I see now…" said Sora as he fell. "No matter the size or strength of my enemies, I will always be able to save my friends."

"_Wield the strength to protect."_ said the voice._ "Have faith in who you are. Stay loyal to your friends. Wield the strength to protect. These are the traits that make a master; one with a heart of tremendous strength and unwavering courage. You deserve the right… to wield the Keyblade."_ With those final words, Sora could feel himself fall asleep in the darkness… waiting to be awakened.

Riku opened his eyes and looked around him even though all he could see was Darkness. Great, not like he hadn't had enough of it already. Then, he looked beneath him as a large stain-glassed window circle appeared from below as it showed a bunch of Keyblades surrounding a heart that was half-way dark and half-way light. When he landed on the floor, a figure appeared before him seeming awfully familiar. King Mickey looked at Riku with disapproving eyes and shook his head.

"Riku… we don't need you." said Mickey.

"What? What do you mean? What are you doing here?" asked Riku. Mickey ignored him and turned his back to Riku.

"I mean… that you're not who we really need. Sora is the one that can save everybody, you're just coming along for the ride. Go home, Riku. Take care of Kairi for Sora, that would be a good use of your time." said Mickey. Riku didn't understand what was happening.

"_Be careful…"_ said a voice. Riku looked around him as he tried to find the source of the voice. He heard it like it was in his head and all around him at the same time. It was like the voice had no origin that Riku could see.

"What?" said Riku aloud.

"_Darkness has found its way in more than once. Don't let it regain its hold."_ said the voice. Riku looked at Mickey with the same disappointed look and smiled.

"I'm such a fool… to even begin to think that you would really abandon me; what kind of friend am I?" said Riku. The second he finished, Riku saw Mickey's eyes turn yellow and his skin turn completely black with small threads of red and silver.

"What is that!" asked Riku.

"_The darkest part of your heart." _said the voice. _"Strike it down."_ said the voice. Upon command, Riku summoned his Keyblade and dashed forward to slice the Mickey imposter, in two. With the pieces separated, the monster slowly disintegrated into little dark spores.

"And who are you?" asked Riku as he looked up to the black sky.

"_I am your heart. You need power, so I give it form."_ said the voice.

"Where am I?" asked Riku although he already knew the answer.

"_This is a place where Darkness is at its most dangerous. You have no heart here, and your judgment will be clouded."_ said the voice.

"Well, it that doesn't sound especially fair…" said Riku.

"_Have faith in who you are."_ said the voice. A second later, the stain-glassed window broke beneath Riku as he fell into the darkness. As he was falling, Riku could see the new circle below him. It was a picture of all the heartless gathering around two people in the center. The two people were Riku and Ansem. As Riku landed on this and studied the picture, Ansem appeared out of nowhere with his large darkness guardian floating behind him.

"Hello again Riku." said Ansem. Riku stared at him in horror.

"No… it can't be! Sora destroyed you!" yelled Riku as his Keyblade appeared in his hand while Ansem only smirked at it.

"It seems you've acquired a new Keyblade. Looks like it's much stronger than your previous one." said Ansem with his voice like a knife.

"Answer me!" yelled Riku. Ansem only smirked again and nodded.

"Very well… I've said it before, but you seem to still not understand," said Ansem. "No matter what you do, the darkness will always have a hold over you. You WILL NOT escape me."

"No it doesn't! And even if it does, I'll still fight it with all that I am!" said Riku confidently. Immediately, Riku leapt forward to attack Ansem, but his dark guardian behind him, knocked Riku out of the way. After recovering from the attack, Ansem appeared in front of him at a tremendous speed, using the guardian behind him to pound Riku into the ground. When Ansem backed off after attacking Riku, he slowly stood up from his resting place on the ground with his arm and head bleeding. Riku looked at him with hate in his eyes and pointed his Keyblade at Ansem.

"You will never destroy me! I WILL BE FREE OF YOU!" said Riku. He dashed toward him again, faster this time, and started exchanging rapid blows with his Keyblade at Ansem's guardian. After a few moments of attacking, Ansem backed away as Riku pointed his Keyblade at him. "Firaga." said Riku as a large beam of flaming energy shot from the tip of the Keyblade and incinerated Ansem. Once the fire died down and Riku let down his Keyblade, he realized that all his wounds had healed. He looked at the remains of Ansem before him and smirked.

"How…" asked Ansem. "How can you continue to resist me!"

"Because I have Sora, and Kairi, and lots of other friends too. So long as I have them with me in my heart, there is no way that you can defeat me. Your darkness… will NEVER control me." said Riku. With one final strike of his Keyblade, Riku jabbed the tip of it into Ansem's heart, destroying him completely and shattering the floor beneath him too.

"_Stay loyal to your friends."_ said the voice again. Riku nodded and smiled at the thought and began to fall as he saw the next picture of the stain-glassed window. It was a picture of Sora, Riku, and King Mickey all surrounding a large heart with two lifeless, yellow eyes. Once he landed, a dark circle appeared in the center of the floor and expanded as a large monster began to climb out from beneath it. It was a horribly ugly looking creature. It had three heads, each of which looked like Sora, Riku and King Mickey. They all roared in a terrible harmony as the monster began to show off its features. It had pure white skin leading up until the waist line of the creature and turned pitch black the next. On the end of the creature where it's spikey tail wagged back and forth were loads of curly and zigg-zaggy spikes. It also had large wings to add to its ferocity.

"What is this!" yelled Riku.

"_This is the darkness of your heart. The doubt. The anger. The sadness. It all exists right in front of you."_ said the voice. Riku looked at it with some fear, but mostly wonder. The wonder, because after all that he had been through, after all the he and Sora had done together, he still had darkness in his heart; all this time.

"So… it's still here; the darkness that keeps calling me back." said Riku as the monster roared again.

"_Don't doubt yourself. Do not be afraid."_ said the voice. _"Now… destroy it!"_ Riku nodded and summoned his Keyblade into his hand and gripped it tight. The monster moved first with smashing its large claws down at the floor. Riku dodged through an opening in its fingers as the claw came down, with Riku following up to where one of its heads were. He sliced his Keyblade forward in a horizontal motion, striking at the beast's eye. It screeched in pain as Riku landed on the creature's back and began to stab his Keyblade downward into its flesh on its back. The monster shivered as Riku did this and began to take flight. When it was just about to fly fast and make Riku fall into the darkness, Riku flipped backwards and landed back on the stain-glassed floor. The monster went flying all around the large cylinder firing black and white spikes from its back as it flew. Riku, dodged some of the spike and deflected most of them right back at the monster as he aimed mostly for its wings. When they all missed, Riku found an opportunity to fire three Firaga spells at the monster; sending balls of flames at the abomination's heads. After two missed and one stuck the head, the monster flew down closer to where Riku was, but did not land. The heads turned toward each other as they began to form a large attack in the middle of the three of them. Riku saw what they were doing and threw his Keyblade at the heads. The Strike Raid attack flew all the way around while hitting the monster's heads and then landed back in Riku's hands. When the creature was about ready to fire, Riku moved his Keyblade in front of him to get ready to block. When the monster had finished, a large black red blue and purple beam of energy shot from its mouths and headed straight for Riku. He was doing his best to try and block the attack with his Keyblade, but the attack was pushing him back. He looked at the monster and saw that it looked like it was in pain.

"**Destroy us…"** said the monster. **"You must destroy us."** Riku nodded and with a little bit of strength left in him, he redirected the beam entirely as Riku gathered energy himself. With enough power in his Keyblade, Riku jumped fast and hard toward the monster, making teleportation attacks all around it's body and slicing it up into pieces. When he landed back on the stain-glassed floor, he smiled at the ghostly figures of Mickey, Sora, and himself. Sora and Mickey spoke, while the Riku with them remained silent. **"Thank you…"** the two of them said and disappeared in a flash of light. The Riku before him however, came down to Riku and smiled at him. **"Looks like you were able to save yourself too…"** said the other Riku. Riku nodded and smiled at his other as the other Riku disappeared.

"I guess… that I can always concur the darkness… so that I can save myself, and protect my friends." said Riku as he looked up to the dark, empty sky.

"_Wield the strength to protect."_ said the voice. _"Have faith in who you are. Stay loyal to your friends. Wield the strength to protect. These are the traits that make a master; one with a heart of tremendous strength and unwavering courage. You deserve the right… to wield the Keyblade."_ said the voice. Then, the stain-glassed window below him broke into thousands of pieces that scattered instantly until they could no longer be seen. Riku could feel sleep overtake him as he floated peacefully in to the darkness… waiting to be awakened.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Holders of the Key

Sora and Riku awoke standing next to each other in the middle of Yen Sid's office like nothing had happened at all. The two of them looked at one another with curiosity and then back at Mickey and Yen Sid who were both smiling at Riku and Sora.

"You did it guys!" said Mickey in celebration.

"Did what?" asked Sora. Mickey turned to Yen Sid as he nodded and stood from his desk.

"Congratulations. You have both passed the Mark of Mastery with much skill. You have had your Birth by Sleep **(FYI: I'm making an assumption here that "Birth by Sleep" is what happens when you awake from a sleep with a new power/understanding of yourself. I'm guessing here, so lets just go with it... please?)** You are now both Masters of the Keyblade." He said. Sora and Riku smiled at each other and high-fived.

"We did it!" yelled Riku.

"Yeah!" said Sora. Yen Sid smiled at them and waved a hand towards them as to make a gesture for them to calm down. When they did, Yen Sid sat down in his chair behind his desk and began to stroke his beard.

"Now then, let us direct our attention to the task at hand. Sora, Riku. Now that both of you are Masters, many new abilities and strengths will be available to you. At times, you will be entitled to certain knowledge as well to assist you in your duties." said Yen Sid. Riku and Sora nodded.

"Let's tell them about what we found out." said Mickey to Yen Sid. He nodded and stopped stroking his beard.

"For the past few months, Mickey has been out exploring new worlds that had been recently revealed to us. As he had done so, he discovered that there are two others that could be capable of wielding the Keyblade." said Yen Sid.

"What! Who!" asked Riku. Yen Sid looked at him and nodded.

"Their names are still but a mystery to us. However, being Masters like Mickey and my-self, you should be able to feel the energy of another Keybearer. These two in particular are very faint, but the sign is there." said Yen Sid.

"This is great! New Keyblade bearers!" said Sora excitedly. Yen Sid leaned forward in his desk and spoke to Riku and Sora.

"Sora, Riku. The three of you might not be enough to stop what is coming. Therefore, I think it would be best to bring in some new players to this game." (AN: Ahahaha! Get it? Cuz you know, Kingdom hearts is a game and these guys are players and characters and… yeah, I know I'm not funny…. DX)

"I agree." said Riku crossing his arms as Sora nodded along with him.

"Yeah, so we go to where they are and ask them to come and join us? I thought that we aren't supposed to tell others about outside worlds?" asked Sora. Yen Sid nodded.

"Yes, that would go against the Laws of Intergalactic Travel, but with the exception of the Keyblade, the rules can be by-passed." said Yen Sid.

"Fair enough." said Sora. "So what do we do now?"

"Welp, why don't you guys come with me to Disney Castle? I can get you ready to go recruit the new guys!" said Mickey. Sora and Riku smiled and nodded at each other.

"In the meantime, while you two are out at the other worlds, I will remain here to keep an eye on the worlds. I'll alert you if anything of note arises." said Yen Sid.

"Alright. You ready, Sora?" asked Riku. Sora looked at Mickey and nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go." he said. Mickey nodded and looked to Yen Sid.

"Wait." said Yen Sid. Right before they were about to leave, Sora and Riku turned around as they watched Yen Sid wave his hands in the air. A bright light shown from his hands and faded as he held two objects in his hands and presented them to Sora and Riku. "As true masters of the Keyblade, you are now presented with armor and your personal transportation. You will now be able to turn your Keyblades into forms of transportation for traveling in between worlds. The armor will protect you from the darkness as you travel and will help provide protection in combat." The two objects of light flew straight into Sora and Riku's hearts and in a bright flash of light, the armor surrounded their bodies. Sora's armor was a bluish and green color with a light shade of brown added to the mix. The helmet had three short pointy sections on the forehead part of it and dark visor that hid his eyes, yet he could still see through it. Riku's armor was long and silver with some black on the arms, legs, and chest of the armor. His helmet had in long spike that came from the back of his head and went almost all the way down to the middle of his back; his visor was pointed out more than Sora's but his was just as dark as Sora's.

"W-Whoa!" said Sora aloud. "This is awesome!"

"No kidding." said Riku looking at Sora.

"Now, I think that just about covers it. Mickey will bring you to Disney Castle where your current mission can begin underway." said Yen Sid. Sora and Riku nodded and followed King Mickey out of the tower to the edge where the glowing train-tracks were.

"Awright, guys. As a test run, let's all travel through the use of our Keyblades." Said Mickey.

"Are you sure we're ready for this?" asked Sora. Riku lightly punched him in the shoulder and smirked.

"Since when do you worry? We got this!" said Riku. Sora laughed and nodded as they both looked at Mickey. He threw his Keyblade into the air, almost as high as the top of the Mysterious Tower, and in a bright flash of light came hovering down a large golden and red ship that was long and cylinder in the middle and had wings on the side that looked like a bunch of spikes. As this happened, King Mickey's armor had covered his body. It was almost completely red colored with silver and gold on the shoulder pads and knee pads. The only things that weren't covered were Mickey's gigantic ears.

"Woah! You can do that too!" asked Sora. Mickey nodded.

"Yeah! I am a master too, after all!" said Mickey. "Now you guys do the same. Throw your Keyblade in the air, and it will automatically shift into a vehicle." Sora was the first to go and threw his Keyblade high up in a spinning motion. When it came back down, it flashed and transformed in a second into a looking ship. The ship had four wings evenly spread out among the long silver blue and green cone in the center with two boosters in the back. Sora jumped and landed on the flat side of his Keyblade were there were two terminals on each side of where Sora was supposed to be standing.

"What's next!" asked Sora over the hum of the ships.

"Place your hands on the terminals next to where you stand. This is how you control the ship. As long as your hands are on those pads, all you have to do is think it, and the ship will fly where ever you wanna go!" said Mickey. Sora heard him and placed my hands where they were supposed to lay and he could feel the purr of the ship as it sprang to life.

"This is so cool!" yelled Sora ecstatically. Mickey nodded and turned to Riku.

"Your turn, Riku!" said Mickey. Riku nodded and threw his Keyblade into the air as well. In a bright flash of light, it came back down in the form of another ship. This time, the wings were triangles that looked like wings and were completely separated from the main structure of the ship. Riku's was a blue and silver color with the edges of the triangle wings outlined in black. In the front, the ship had a swirling point to it that seemed to add that extra flare. Riku had done the same as Sora and jumped on top of his ship and placed his hands on the terminals to his left and right of where he stood. To Riku's surprise, the ship was extraordinarily easy to drive. Mickey did a flip onto his golden ship and placed his hands in similar positions while the ship started with a grumbling _vroom_!

"You fellas ready?" asked Mickey. The two nodded and followed Mickey immediately into space and on their way to Disney Castle. As they floated almost weightless in the void of space, Sora and Riku couldn't help but stare all around them at the stars in the universe. Seeing all of them like this on a Keyblade, was really different than riding in a Gummi ship or portals. Mickey hurried them along, reminding them that they weren't here to sight see and pressed on to Disney Castle. The trip was only about twenty minutes, from one world to the next and they all landed safely into the docking bay of Disney Castle.

"Your Majesty, how do our ships turn back into Keyblades?" asked Sora. Mickey stepped off his ship and deactivated his armor and held out his hand to his ship. The golden ship glowed with a white light and shrunk back into a golden Keyblade. Sora and Riku understood and followed in his footstep and stood down from their ships and made their armor disappear from their bodies.

"Okay guys, let's head to my study and I'll explain everything there. No time to waste!" said mickey.

"Right!" said both Sora and Riku and followed the king to the study. When they arrived, Sora and Riku stood side by side like military men and waited for King Mickey to speak. When he did, Mickey looked serious.

"Sora. Riku. You are now both masters of the Keyblade. Therefore, I think it's time I told you about where you guys are headed to next." said Mickey.

"Yeah." said Sora while nodding his head. Mickey went around from his book case and went to sit at his desk and spread his hands out.

"There are two worlds where these new Keys are. The first is in a new galaxy called the Galactic Empire. There is a planet in that system called Kamino where one of the Keyblade bearers are. Riku, you will go there to meet with them. And Sora, you will head to a place called Abstergo Industries and meet up with the other Key. You guys are to explain, in short, who you are and why you have come to meet them. If they agree to traveling with you, then you will bring them back here to begin their training. Understood?" asked King Mickey.

"Yes Sir!" said Riku and Sora in sync. Mickey nodded and pressed a button on his desk as Chip and Dale ran in the second he did.

"You called, your Majesty?" asked Dale. Mickey nodded and looked back at Sora and Riku.

"Since you will each be bringing one extra person, you will need a Gummi ship to bring them back here. Chip, Dale, I need you guys to set them up with those new versions of the Gummi ships. The brand new ones." said Mickey. Dale and Chip stood on their hind legs and saluted.

"You got it, your Majesty. We'll get to work on preparation right away." said Chip as they ran out on all fours out of the room.

"When you guys are ready, head over to the Gummi hangar and set off." said Mickey. Sora and Riku stared at each other for a second and then nodded at Mickey.

"Alright. We'll head over there now. See you." said Riku. Mickey nodded as Sora and Riku left the room, down the long hallway, and straight for the Gummi ship hangar. Once in the hangar, Sora and Riku starred in awe at their own Gummi ships, ready for immediate launch.

"Well, guess this is good-bye for a while." said Riku. Sora nodded and looked down a bit.

"Yeah…" said Sora sounding depressed. Riku looked at Sora and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, don't you know that Gummi ships won't fly if you have a sour face!" said Riku jokingly. Sora's face turned to an immediate smile as Riku laughed at the sudden change in mood. "But still…" Sora looked at Riku. "Be careful out there. We have no idea if things are going to be dangerous or no, but be on your guard." said Riku. Sora bobbed his head and looked at his Gummi ship and then at Riku's.

"So where are we going?" asked Sora. Riku shrugged and headed towards his Gummi ship.

"The ships are probably auto-piloted to take us to and from where we need to go. We'll find out when we shove off." said Riku. With another nod, Sora began to board as Riku did the same.

"Good luck!" said Sora waving good-bye. Riku waved back as the doors shut and Sora and Riku were both inside their Gummi ships at the same time. Sora sat in his piloting seat and looked as the monitor flashed on.

"Heyya Sora!" said Dale's face. Sora smiled as he saw Dale looked and waving at him through the screen Over to the side was Chip, though it was uncertain if he was paying attention or not.

"Dale! Hey!" said Sora. He felt a lot better now knowing that he wasn't going to be alone on this trip.

"So, for starters, press that green switch over to your right." said Dale. Sora followed his orders directly and looked back to Dale. "Now, speak into the microphone." said Dale.

"Hello?" said Sora not sure of what to say.

"Sora?" said Riku's voice.

"Riku!" said Sora looking at Dale on the screen.

"Yup! Made a wireless transmitter for ya so you and Riku can keep in touch! I had a feeling that communication was gonna be vital to this mission." said Dale. Sora smiled big and spoke into the microphone.

"You hear that, Riku!" asked Sora.

"Yeah, this is great! A lot more convenient too!" said Riku's voice over the intercom.

"Also, on the back of the headset of your seat, is a portable wireless transmitter so you can talk to Riku while you're traveling on foot! The same goes for Riku as well!" said Dale. Sora nodded and smiled big at Dale.

"Thanks a lot!" said Sora. Chips face had now taken over the screen as chip nudged Dale out of the frame.

"Listen Riku. Your ship is programmed to fly to Kamino and Sora's will fly to Abstergo Industries. You mission is to bring them aboard and to not tell them about anything until you're btoh safely on the ship. Got it!" asked Chip. Sora nodded and Riku made no comment which meant he was probably doing the same thing as Sora. "Okay then, now get moving! No time to waste!" said Chip.

"Roger!" Sora responded as he began the launch sequence as the sound of the Gummi ship rumbling and the thrusters heating up, Sora's ship was the first to leave Disney Castle while shortly followed by Riku. Once out of orbit of the world, Sora and Riku went their separate ways and let their ships send them off to worlds unknown.


End file.
